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This Lens is great if you need this reach. Very sharp at 100 and 200mm wide open, sharp at 300mm and good at 400mm wide open. Stopped down to F8 at 400mm is sharp. This lens can focus close at all focal lengths so it make for a great macro type shooting. I tried the 100-300 Mk II, which is fine but too soft at 300mm for my taste. Stopping down on the 100-300 MkII didn't help much either, which surprised me. This lens is much better and worth the price. The zoom ring is a little stiff but it is the weight of the glass (20 elements). But I love this lens anyways. I put black electrical tape on the OIS button to prevent accidently hitting it off and missing a shot, as it is easy to hit this without knowing it. I hate carrying a tripod around so I will never be turning off the OIS. That extra 200mm reach does come in handy with a small sensor and only 16 mp. Yeah, it is expensive, but I have no regrets now that I have it, as it is worth it.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
As others have reported, the lens mount snapped off of the camera following a minor bump. Worse yet, when the mount broke, a shard left a scratch on my also new Lumix G9. I'm now out $2,700 after just a year of use. Users need to understand that unlike the established camera brands, Panasonic is not equipped to service their photography gear at a reasonable price or schedule. They need to stop treating cameras like their home appliances; it's not disposable! I've now replaced my Panasonic gear with an Olympus EM1 mk ii and Olympus 100-400 zoom. As a long-time Canon user, I can attest to the robustness of the Olympus gear. It is how camera equipment should be designed and built.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I begin by saying that I am not an experienced photographer. The following photos were taken using a Olympus EM1 Mark II with the Panasonic 100-400. All were shot at 30 feet, at >300 mm, hand held / sitting down, with the in-lens stabilizer on (camera stabilizer off) and no flash. (Photos were also cropped). Results are best in bright light--focus is less sharp in low light. I think the photos speak for themselves and I am generally quite pleased with the lens, especially the stabilization and focus. On the down side, the lens focus can be a bit noisy and the magnification ring is quite stiff. It is a well built lens that should endure hard use.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Range is exceptional, acceptably fast in all light for a super telephoto. E-infinity's price was a $400 discount from retail, it got from the Far East to my door in 2 days via FedEx—free! Manufacturer's Packaging, brand new. A 3-year service warranty for $100+ is offered which is also very acceptable insurance conceding this is a $1,799 lens at retail list. It's light, small, fast, sharp, fully stabilized & weather resistant with 200–800 DSLR equivalent... and sharp throughout the focal range. I'm now thinking about buying the current Lumix body if only to enhance the stabilization engineering to the max. The only con I have is that the zoom ring is a little stiff which is a pain when hand-held—necessary most of the time when shooting wildlife and especially birds flying.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I’m a Semi-Pro for more than 40 years (I chose not to earn a living from Photography). I’ve shot with lots of telephotos over the years and never had a Super Tele as sharp as this lens.Without a doubt for the money this is the best lens for your Micro 4/3 System. The build is Pro all the way. The Glass is Pure Leica Standards. Let me address the negative comments I’ve read. 1) The so called “Stiffness” in the zooming, I don’t understand this, there is virtually no stiffness in the Zoom from 100 all the way to 400. If you’re expecting a super easy zoom feel that you get from smaller zoom lenses then you don’t understand a zoom lens of this focal length. Your moving a lot of glass in this lens but in no way would I consider it “Stiff”. I did a side by side comparison with my Lumix Leica 12-60mm and the zoom feel is very close. Understand the weight of this lens contributes to the overall feel. I think those who claim that their lens was stiff, perhaps they have the Zoom in the lock position or not all the way open. 2) The tripod mount only pivots 90 degrees and to that I say So What! Why it would need to turn a full 360, you’re either going to shoot Horizontally or Vertically which is turning the camera 90 degrees in either direction. Besides if you are using an in camera stabilization Lumix body you may not even use a tripod as sharpness is incredible handheld at very low shutter speeds. If you do the tripod mount works just fine. I keep it off the lens to reduce bulk. 3)The built in and external lens hood. A pointless issue. The built in hood is adequate for most shooting conditions, if you’re getting major glare from your lighting angle it’s no big deal to pop on the external hood. The smaller hood is convenient and reduces bulk in my camera bag. Lastly this is a lot of glass in a very compact design. Although not heavy by comparison to a lens you’d use on a full frame DSLR, for 4/3 Micro it’s about as heavy as you would ever want, coming in a little over 2 Lbs. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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